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The basic whetting, or sharpening, equipment for scissors and shears is an aluminum oxide bench stone, which is generally available at hardware stores. Brown in color, it is coarse on one side and fine on the other. A new stone should be soaked overnight in a pan of light machine oil. The best place to keep the sharpening stone when not in use is in a closed box; otherwise it may clog with dust and become useless. Be sure to oil it lightly before each use. 

The edges of both scissors and shears should not be honed smooth. They are designed to break through fibers, not to slice them, and the blades should therefore be sharpened only on the coarse face of the stone. Both scissors and shears are sharpened at a steep angle. The blades should meet and bear lightly on one another. If they do not, try tightening the pivot screw, or hammering the pivot down. Open scissors wide, place blade on stone with the inner face vertical, tip it back slightly less than ten degrees. Grip scissors and rub from side to side on the coarse face of the oiled stone. Work from base to tip. Repeat with second blade. 

The main thing to remember here is that scissors are just like any other tool and need to be kept in good working order if they are going to perform at their best. Regular care and maintenance of your best scissors will keep them at peak performance and always be ready to use when you need them. It is understood of course that cheaper scissors do not need to be sharpened all the time.

I am talking about the paper cutting scissors children may use in grade school. However, a nice and expensive pair that you use on fabric or in artistic endeavors, will definitely need to be re-sharpened from time to time. It is a lot cheaper than sending them out to be sharpened if you don’t mind using a little elbow grease. Cutting blades are common household items and with typical use the blade or cutting edge will lose some of its sharpness.